


Dare

by LobsterLobster



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Richonne - Freeform, Truth or Dare, season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 00:00:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11908974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LobsterLobster/pseuds/LobsterLobster
Summary: Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Daryl are on their way to Terminus. They have a long journey ahead of them and, to pass the time, Michonne and Carl play a game.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Another day of walking stretched before them, another day closer to Terminus and the promise of shelter, community, all of it if it was true, but still several days away.

They stayed more or less on the railroad tracks during the days, plodding along, not in any huge hurry. Michonne didn’t mind the slower pace. It gave them a little time to catch their breath before jumping into another big unknown.

Rick never complained, but he was still feeling the lingering effects of his fight with the Governor. And Daryl, before it was all over, had taken quite a beating from the thugs a few nights ago.

They kept moving because they had no other choice, and Terminus was as good a goal as any.

Michonne and Carl came up with a game to pass the time, to entertain themselves and, more importantly, to take Carl’s mind off of things.

Once again, Michonne and Carl walked carefully, placing one foot directly in front of the other, arms outstretched to balance on the railroad beams. Carl had quickly gotten quite good at balancing on the thin beam.

Michonne focused on the task at hand, walking confidently, keeping pace with Carl, careful not to overcorrect her balance. She had long since given up trying to startle Carl, since it usually backfired. Their competition was more serious now. She settled for occasionally making weird faces, which usually got Carl to laugh and once or twice he had laughed so hard that he miss-stepped and fell off the beam.

“This is too easy,” Michonne said suddenly, “I think we should make it harder.” _You keep beating me!_

Moving carefully, Michonne turned her feet and twisted her body so that she was walking backwards.

“Hey, good luck with that,” Carl said, smiling, refusing to take the bait.

Michonne frowned. Walking backwards was more difficult than she’d thought. Things were going well for a few minutes but then the beam started to curve a bit and Michonne’s boot slid off the metal. She waved her arms a bit, trying to regain her balance, then gave up as her foot landed on the ground.

Carl smiled triumphantly.

“So, what’s it gonna be this time,” he asked, “Truth or dare?”

“Hmm,” Michonne considered, “Dare.”

They both walked on the wooden railroad ties now, almost catching up to Rick and Daryl. Daryl fell in beside them, acting like he wasn’t curious about their game.

“Something new, though,” Michonne told Carl, thinking back over their usual list of dares; sing the little teapot song with motions, eat the next bug that you find, do a funny dance.

“I can tell you right now, I am not eating another centipede. I’m not _that_ hungry,” Michonne said.

“Okay, okay, I’ll think of something new,” Carl agreed.

They walked on for a while as Carl thought of a new dare. The rules were pretty simple. It couldn’t be something that might actually hurt someone and had to be relatively quiet. Anything else was fair game.

“I’ve got something,” Daryl spoke up for the first time, looking at Michonne with something close to mischief in his eyes. _Oh man, I’m in for it now._

“What?” Carl asked.

 Daryl leaned down a bit and whispered something in Carl’s ear.

“You sure?” Carl asked uncertainly.

Daryl nodded, “I’m sure. Trust me.”

Carl thought about it a bit then decided he agreed. An impish smile spread across his features.

Michonne sighed in mock resignation. _How bad could it be?_

“Alright, what’s the verdict?” she eyed Daryl suspiciously.

Carl glanced at Rick, a few yards ahead of them and just out of immediate earshot, then back at Michonne.

“I dare you to kiss my dad,” Carl said.

“Wait, what?” Michonne wasn’t sure she’d heard him right.

 “You have to kiss my dad!” Carl said again, “A real kiss, on the lips.”

Michonne hesitated, suddenly and uncharacteristically nervous.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Carl,” she tried to dissuade him.

“A dare is a dare. You have to do it,” Carl said boldly.

“Carl…” Michonne stalled. Great, now even Daryl was openly smirking at her.

“Are you afraid?” Carl challenged, enjoying her discomfort more than he should.

“No,” she replied tartly.

“Then are you saying you would rather eat another centipede?” Carl asked smugly, “Because I’m sure I can find one around here…”

“Fine! I’ll do it,” Michonne relented, glaring at Carl and Daryl. _It’s no big deal. It’s just a game._

Michonne picked up her pace, closing the distance between herself and Rick. _Relax. It’s not like you haven’t thought about it before, anyway…._

Now walking beside Rick, Michonne glanced behind her. Daryl and Carl were hanging back a bit. Carl had a huge smirk on his face. Daryl gave her an encouraging thumbs-up.  She rolled her eyes and ignored them.

Just play it cool. You can do this. It’s no big deal, she attempted to quiet the butterflies in her stomach.

“Hey,” Rick said lightly, “You lose again?”

“Yeah,” Michonne said, making a face.

Rick smiled. He walked with his hands shoved in his jacket pockets. _Stop it. Since when do I get nervous?_

“Your son has excellent balance,” Michonne said, stalling, “You should be proud.”

Rick smiled again, blue eyes twinkling curiously, “What’d he trick you into doing this time?”

_It’s only a dare. Just do it. Don’t think and just do it._

Michonne stopped walking.

Confused, Rick stopped too, “What is it?”

Michonne took a deep breath and let it out, gathering her resolve. She stepped closer to Rick, reached up and put her hands on his shoulders. She hesitated for a second but Rick didn’t move, didn’t say anything; he waited. _It’s been years since I kissed someone…_

Standing on her toes just enough to reach, Michonne leaned in close and kissed Rick on the lips. She lingered a fraction longer than she would have if it was only a dare, if it didn’t mean anything.

Before she could pull away and laugh it off, maybe say ‘that was some dare, huh?’ she felt Rick’s lips pressing back against her own. And just like that, her carefully guarded control slipped from her shoulders like a discarded robe. Rick felt so close, and real, and warm, and this was exactly what she wanted. Unafraid, Michonne moved a hand to touch his face and kissed him deeply, losing track of the seconds swirling by them.

They pulled apart slowly, almost reluctant to yield to reality.

 Whoohoo – Daryl whistled from somewhere behind them.

_Oh, God!_ Michonne felt a huge rush of embarrassment. _I did not just do that!_ Without looking back at Daryl and Carl, Michonne turned on her heels and set off at a brisk pace along the train tracks. _Be cool._

“Terminus isn’t getting any closer,” she called.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does Rick feel about this new development?

Rick Grimes opened his eyes slowly. He stared, hypnotized by the soft look in Michonne’s deep brown eyes. He rarely got to look at her so closely; he couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. He felt the lingering hum of her kiss on his lips, like the buzz of cicadas on the first day of summer.

He was a heartbeat away from pulling her into his arms and kissing her again when Daryl’s loud whistle broke the spell.

Rick winced in embarrassment. In those few seconds, he’d almost forgotten about Daryl and Carl.

Michonne spun away from him and sauntered off along the railroad tracks, saying ‘let’s get a move on’ or something along those lines.

Daryl and Carl started walking again, Daryl patting Rick on the back as he passed his friend, Carl laughing at his father’s dazed reaction.

The small group of survivors walked on, as they had the days before, plodding along the weather-worn railroad ties, listening for movement in the surrounding woods. Rick lagged behind them, lost in thought.

_She likes me after all!_ Rick could scarcely believe his luck. _She does feel something for me! Michonne would never kiss someone unless she wanted to, dare or not. That was definitely a real kiss…it felt real._

Crack! A sharp noise startled Rick. He looked around for danger before noticing the broken stick under his foot.

_Focus_ , he instructed himself sternly, _You have to stay alert out here. Don’t let your guard down, not for anything._

With that grim reminder in his mind, Rick managed to spend the next twenty-three minutes focused on his surroundings, alert for danger.

Inevitably, Rick’s thoughts fell back to Michonne. He thought about how she always seemed to find him right when he needed her most, how she always kept her cool, she always knew what to do, how she could make Carl smile so easily when Rick hadn’t been able to do that for months on end…how she never made him feel like he was falling short of expectations, which was so easy to do, how she always seemed to understand…

Knowing that Michonne cared about him, at least enough to share an impromptu kiss, felt like opening to the first page of a book that’d been resting by his bedside for weeks, him all the while meaning to read it but never quite working up to that first step. Now he couldn’t put it down.

Everything that Rick felt for the beautiful warrior woman had been stuffed deep in his heart, only half-acknowledged. Now he felt it all, forceful and real.

With a cold, sinking feeling, a darker thought spoke in his mind. _You’ve done the same thing again. Held your love inside, waiting until it was safe to say it out loud, but it will never be safe…_

Rick remembered the darkness that had swallowed him in the days after Lori died. When it happened, he still had love for her, he didn’t hate her like she seemed to think, but he couldn’t bring himself to confront that truth, and then it was too late. She died and he never got to tell her that he still loved her. That was the worst part, the failure that shamed him the most.

He’d made a promise to himself, over those months spent working in the garden with Hershel and Carl. He wouldn’t make the same mistakes again. For a long time, he thought that meant he shouldn’t make decisions for the group any more, but that wasn’t really an option now.

_I won’t make the same mistakes. I’m ready now. I’ll confront things head on. No more self-doubt, no more guilt._

They walked easily until the sun started to dim. Only a handful of walkers stumbled out of the trees to bother them, each quickly dispatched with a swish of a steel blade or a well-aimed arrow. For the most part, they kept quiet and Rick was left alone with his thoughts.

_It isn’t safe, not with us out here in the open like this. It’s not safe._

_…but you can’t decide when or where you fall in love. You have to tell her! You have to make sure she knows._ Rick held a running debate in his head.

First he would tell himself that he had to focus on surviving, getting them to safety. Then the warm memory of Michonne’s kiss would flutter back up, and then he would resolve to tell her… _what? That I love her and can’t live without her? Even if it’s true, it’s too much, too soon._

Before it got too dark, they took a turn into the woods, looking for a good spot to settle down for the night. They made camp in a little clearing. A length of string with a few rusted cans tied between trees here and there served as a makeshift warning system.

Carl rolled out his bedroll, lifted from one of the thugs from the other night, and was asleep within minutes. Rick announced that he would take first watch and Daryl was soon asleep as well. Michonne took a walk around, checking the immediate area for danger. In the morning they would set about finding something to eat, maybe catch some squirrels if they were lucky.

Rick settled down with his back to a tree and watched the night fall on the forest. He wasn’t surprised when Michonne returned and sat down next to him.

They had a routine. After Carl fell asleep, they would both sit by their small fire, if they had one, for an hour or so. Then one would tell the other ‘get some sleep, I’ll wake you for the next shift’. Usually they would talk about the daily things, what needed to be done in the morning, what they had to eat, the same old topics over and over.

_This time I won’t talk about food. Or talk about how we always talk about food._

“You’re smiling again,” Michonne said before Rick could say something clever like ‘that was some dare, wasn’t it?’

“Oh?”

“You’ve had that goofy smile all day,” Michonne informed him.

Rick looked at her, looked at his feet, shrugged awkwardly. He looked at her again. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted to put into words but he hoped she understood, somehow, like she always seemed to understand him.

Michonne spoke again, her voice a little softer, less teasing, “You like me that much, huh?”

This time Rick didn’t look away. He could barely make out her expression in the deepening shadows.

“I do,” Rick answered honestly.

There was a flash of a smile and then Michonne scooted closer to his side and leaned her head on his shoulder. Rick shifted and wrapped his arm around her.

“You comfortable?” he asked in a low voice.

“Mhmm,” she murmured.

They sat like that for a long time, Rick staring off into the woods, Michonne drifting off to sleep cuddled up against him.

_This is good_ , Rick thought, _This is how we should be._

 

* * *

THE END. <3 

 

 

 


End file.
